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Culture War Roundup for the week of May 15, 2023

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I think the simplest way is to deregulate and get rid of mandatory insurance. If you look at medical procedures where insurance isn't a factor, like LASIK or boob jobs, the experience is 10x better than regular healthcare. For laser eye surgery it was just walk in, no wait, they check if you're eligible and tell you the exact amount it will cost and then you can schedule a date and time.

When the government mandates insurance then people lose any incentive to shop around or get a better deal. Providers don't have any incentive to negotiate because you don't care about the price. The government helpfully bans any competition that's not part of their cartel.

There's been some positive developments around this. My insurance company has a website where you can compare prices for things like MRIs, and if you select a cheaper one they'll cut you a check. I was scheduled for an MRI a couple of years ago. The doctor scheduled me one at a hospital and when I called them up (after spending 90 minutes on the phone) they finally told me it would be $2000. I cancelled that appointment and after shopping around I found it for $300. But most people don't do that because they don't have any reason to, the cost means nothing after they hit their deductible.

It's true that emergency care is not something you can shop around for, but that's a small fraction of total healthcare spending. If you still got fleeced at the emergency room but everything else got more efficient it would still be a huge improvement.